Metallic floor covering



Oct. 20, 1925- S. C. CARY METALLIC FLOOR COVERING Original Filed 9, 1916III l l l I IIVIIIIIP INVENTOR SpencerC. Cary I member.

Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SPENCER C. CARY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, TO CARY MANUFACTURINGco, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METALLIC FLOOR COVERING.

Application filed November 9, 1916, Serial No. 130,345. Renewed June 18,1923.

To all whom it may cancer/t:

Be it known that I, SPENCER C. CARY, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings,and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful MetallicFloor Covering, of which the fol-, lowing is a specification Thisinvention. is a floor covering composed of metal, the object in Viewbeing to provide a Continuous marginal member adapted to impart afinished appearance to an edge por tion of the metal covering.

The marginal member is characterized by a smooth external surfaceagainst which the foot or shoe may easily pass over without catchingagainst said member. The member is of channeled form pressed and clampedupon the edge portion of the covering, said channeled member beinginteriorly stiflened by a stay member, preferably continuous.- This staymember is fastened to the lin rs of a row of units, and the end portionsof the stay member are provided with means for closing the open ends ofthe channel in the marginal member, thus excluding to a substantialextent the admission of dirt, water or other substances from theinterior of said channeled member. 7

Other functions and advantages of the in vention will appear from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the drawings,wherein- Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of the metal floorcovering with my continuous marginal strip applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail View in plan of the continuous stay member.

Fig. 4 is a detail View, on an enlarged scale, of a part of the staymember and a part of one of the links, illustrating more particularlythe means for securing together said link and stay member.

Fig. 5 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of a part of thechanneled member, a part of the stay member, and a part of one link,showing more particularly the manner of closing the open end of thechanneled The body of the floor covering is composed of units 10assembled into rows, each row of units being held together by rods 11which pass through suitable openings provided in the units of said row.Itis preferred to employ units of the form shown in Figure 1, each unitconsisting of complemental halves with inturned lugs, and the rods passthrough openings in the halves of the units and through openings in theinturned lugs thereof, but it will be understood that the invention isnot restricted to the particular form of unit or the means for tyingsaid units into rows. The units cooperate with links 12, each; linkbeing positioned between the inturned lugs of the complemental memberscomposing the unit. Said links are apertured for the rods 11 to passthrough them, and thus the members of the units in the row andjtheseries of links employed in connection with said. row are tied togetherby the rods 11. The links used in connection with rowspositionedintermediate the marginal rows of the floor covering areconnected pivotally'in the manner disclosed in certain priorpatentsgranted to me, but in the case of the marginal row of units 1employ links of the form shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. Each link isreduced at an end portion to provide a prong 13 and shoulders 14, 15.The links used in connection with each marginal row of units areassembled and attached in the manner described and so that the shoulders14 of said links are substantially flush with the units composing saidmarginal row, the prongs 13 extending a suitable distance from or beyondsaid units, and the shoulders 15 being positioned beyond the shoulders14 and intermediate the units 10 and the pron gs 13.

16 designates a stay member consisting preferably of a continuous metalrod or bar, the length of which is equal substantially to the width ofthe floor covering, and the width of which is less than the thickness ofthe units 10. This bar or rod is provided intermediate its ends withapertures 17, and the prongs 13 are extended through the apertures ofthe bar or rod, after which the prongs are bent or turned over, as at18, whereby the stay member 16 is attached rigidly to the links whichserve as the means for connecting thecontinuous stay member to the rowof units. The bent ends 18 of the prongs force or clamp the continuousstay member 16 into contact with the shoulders 15 of the links, thusaffording a solid bearing for the stay member relatively to the marginalportion of the floor covering. The stay member is posrtloned length-wiseof the row of units and substantially centrally.

with, respect to the depth of said units, thus leaving appreciablespaces'or' intervals between the top and bottom edges of the stay tourofwhi-ch corresponds substantially to the internal contour of thechanneled marginal 'm'ember 20', shown more particularly in Figures 1,2and; 5 of the drawings.

The marginal member 20 is composed of a single'piece ofm'etal which isbent, folded or doubled upon itself so as to produce the channel 21 theedge portions of the metal composing the member 20 being in turned toproduce the flanges 22. In the manufacture of the channeled member 20itis first blanked from a suitable piece of metal, the edges thereof areturned to form the flanges 2'2, and the metal blank is doubled upon;itself. to produce the internal channel. During the manufacture of themember 20 its formand dimensions are such that said member can bereadily slipped over the stay member 16 for the purpose of having thedesired contact with the links, the stay member and the units, wherebythe channeled member enca-se the stay member and the end portions of thelinks, and said channeled member is substantially flush with the top andbottom members of the units, thereby imparting a desirable finish tothemarginal portion of the metal floor covering. A characteristic featureof this inyention: consists in the usexof a channeled marginal member,the exterior surface of which is smooth so as to preclude the floorcovering; from being caught in an object when taking up or laying downsaid floor covering, and to prevent the foot or shoe from catchingagainst a roughened surface of the marginal member,- the smooth exteriorsurface of said marginal member precluding the lodgmen't of dirt andother foreign matter upon the fabric.

The channeled marginal member is not attached or aflixed by the use ofseparate devices to any part of the floor covering, but in the processof assembling the parts in the manufacture of said floor covering, thechanneled member is compressed for the purpose of clamping. it rigidlyin position relatively to the stay member and the marginal row of units.Asa further result of this clamping operation, the channeled member iscompressed at its end portions so as to have engagement with the parts19 of the stay,

whereby said parts 19 actas' closures to the open ends of the channelinsaid marginal member. r

Inthe manufacture of the floor. covering the units, links and. rodsare'assemb'led'for the rods to tie the units and links together, the endportions of the rods being bent against the units at the end of the row.The stay member 16 is: positioned over the prongs 13 of the links andinto substantial contact with the shoulders 15', whereupon the prongsare bent against the .outer surface of the stay member, thus rigidlyattachingv the latter to the links and the row of units. The marginalmember 20' is now positioned so that it will slide over the stay member,the flanges 2'1 of said marginal; member fitting into the spaces betweenthe shouldersale, 15 of the links. lengthwiseof the stay member and ofthe row of units, andwhen it is in position, the open ends of saidchanneled .member are substantially closed by the end portions 19- ofthe stay member. At this stage in the manufacture of the covering, thechanneled member is comparatively free or loose with reference to theunits. The marginal portion of the floor covering isnow placed with. ina press of suitable form, and is subjected to pressure, as a result ofwhich the channeled member is compressed and clamped upon the staymember and the shouldered parts of the links. Another effect of the,compressing. operation is'toclamp the end portions' of channeled memberupon the ends 19 of the stay member, so that the end portions of saidchanneled member are in close contact with the end portions 18 of thestay member, and it is to be noted, further, that the flanges of thechanneled member are forcedtightl y into the spaces between the staymember and the row of units, the surfaces of the channeled member nextto the units being substantially flush therewith.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I clannas new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent'is: I I r 1. A metallic floorcovering embodying units in rows, links attached to said units, eachmarginal link having shoulders and a prong, a stay member extendingcontinuously with respect to themarginal row of units, said stay memberbeing attached by the prongs to the links and being spaced with respectto the units, andachanneled marginal member encasing the stay member,said channeled member having flanges which by compression of the member;are positioned to occupy the spaces between the units and the staymember.

2. A metal floor covering embodying rows of units, links connectingtheunits in adjacent rows, achanneledmember coextensive in length with theunits of a row, the end portions of said channeled memberbeing Thechanneled member is now slid open, and a stay member in fixed relationto said channeled member and to the links of a marginal row of units,said stay member being provided with means extending outwardly therefromand positioned in cooperative relation to the channeled member andclosing the open end portions thereof.

3. A metal floor covering embodying rows of units, links connectingadjacent: rows of units, the links at the marginal row of units beingprovided with tongues and with shoulders, a channeled member extendingcontinuously with respect to the units of a row at a margin of saidfioor covering, and a stay member spaced from the units and extendingcontinuously within the channeled member, said links at the marginal rowof units being locked by upsetting the tongues into fixed relation tothe stay member, and said stay member being 1n contact with theshoulders of the marginal series of links.

4:. A metal floor covering embodying rows of units, links connectingadjacent rows of units, the links at the marginal row of units beingprovided with tongues and shoulders positioned one in rear or the other,a channeled member extending continuously with respect to the row ofunits at the margin of said floor covering, said channeled member beingprovided with inturned flanges which bound a longitudinal'slot at theopen side of said channeled member, and a stay member spaced from theunlts and extending continuously Within said channeled member, saidlinks at the marginal row of units and the continuous stay member beinglocked in fixed relation by upsetting the metal of the tongues againstthe stay member and the inturned flanges of the marginal membercontacting with said stay member and with the shoulders of the links adjacent the marginal row of units.

5. A floor covering embodying units positioned in rows, links connectingsaid rows of units, a continuous member at the margin of said floorcovering, sald continuous member being of channeled form in crosssection and presenting a continuously closed outer edge and provided atthe inner side with an opening, and a stay member substantially flat andpositioned within said channeled member to contact with the top andbottom thereof, said stay member closing the open inner side of thechanneled member, and said links being attached fixedly to said staymember.

6. A floor covering embodying units, links connecting said units, acontinuous member of channeled cross section provided with a closedouter edge portion and with a longitudinal opening in the vertical faceof the inner edge portion, a stay strip substantially Hat and positionedwithin the channeled member in contact therewith, and closing thelongitudinal opening in the inner side thereof, said links being fixedlyattached to the stay strip and being free from direct attachment to thechanneled member.

7. A floor covering embodying units positioned in rows, links connectingsaid rows of units, a continuous member of channeled cross sectionprovided with inwardly extending longitudinal flanges, said continuouschannel member presenting a continuously closed outer edge and providingan opening at the inner side which is partially closed by the inwardlyextending flanges, and a stay member substantially fiat and positionedwithin said channeled member to abut against the inner faces of theinwardly extendmg flanges to close said inner side of the channeledmember, and said links being provided with tongues passing through saidstay member and bent to fixedly attach the links to said member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed by name.

SPENCER C. CARY.

